Kevin Drake, of Drake Construction, was ordered Friday morning to stand trial on eight cases of home improvement fraud after customers testified they paid him to build decks, additions and basements that were not completed.

I wrote about the allegations against Drake, of Lower Macungie Township, about a month ago. You can find that column here.

Among those who testified at Friday's preliminary hearing was Jennifer Makoul of Upper Milford Township. Makoul said she hired Drake in October to build a deck, paying $22,000. She said work didn't even start until two weeks after the project was supposed to be finished, and Drake's crews didn't get far before work stopped for good.

"There were just some posts that were put in," Makoul testified. "It wasn't even framed."

Drake, who recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, did not speak at Friday's preliminary hearing. He has been in jail since his arrest about a month ago. District Judge Michael Faulkner agreed to reduce Drake's bail, but did not grant his attorneys' request to dismiss most of the charges.

Defense attorney Mike McGinley told the judge there was no evidence of criminal intent, that he intended to take money and not perform the work, at the time Drake signed the contracts.

McGinley said the cases belong in civil court because they are "ambiguous contractual issues."

He said work was started on most of the projects, and Drake did not skip town or shut down his business and remained in contact with the customers, though several customers said reaching him wasn't always easy.

Lehigh County Assistant District Attorney Sarah Heimbach said all that must be proven under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act is that the projects were not finished and money was not refunded to customers.

She said the fact that eight homeowners came forward citing similar stories is significant.

"This was a course of conduct and a pattern of behavior," Heimbach told the judge.

She questioned why Drake kept signing contracts and taking money for new projects if he was having trouble completing current projects.